Michael Gove wants clampdown on coal fires and smoky stovesSales of coal as a household fuel could be banned under government plans to reduce air pollution from open fires and stoves.

Restrictions could also be imposed on the burning of wet wood and councils will be given stronger powers to act against people who flout rules in smoke control areas.

Michael Gove, environment secretary, is targeting home fires because they are the single largest source of particulates that contribute to lung and heart disease, causing 29,000 early deaths a year. About 40 per cent of particulates in 2015 came from burning coal and wood in homes, more than double the proportion from diesel cars. A wood-burning stove can produce more particulates than an HGV.

The stoves are increasingly popular in middle-class homes and hotels,…

• The Surgeon General has determined that there is no safe level of exposure to ambient smoke!

• If you smell even a subtle odor of smoke, you are being exposed to poisonous and carcinogenic chemical compounds!

• Even a brief exposure to smoke raises blood pressure, (no matter what your state of health) and can cause blood clotting, stroke, or heart attack in vulnerable people. Even children experience elevated blood pressure when exposed to smoke!

• Since smoke drastically weakens the lungs' immune system, avoiding smoke is one of the best ways to prevent colds, flu, bronchitis, or risk of an even more serious respiratory illness, such as pneumonia or tuberculosis! Does your child have the flu? Chances are they have been exposed to ambient smoke!